1. Technical Field
This invention relates to dispensing and measuring devices, and is intended, more particularly, for use in dispensing powdery or granular materials such as soap powder, sugar, coffee or starch. The object is to provide an apparatus of this character which will be of simple and inexpensive construction and designed to be adjusted to automatically discharge a predetermined quantity of material at each of its complete movements. Further, all of those prior known measuring pourers which have come to my attention are undependable and inaccurate when attempts are made to rapidly and successively dispense material therefrom in controlled quantities.
The present invention discloses a novel and non-obvious device for dispensing precise volumes of material successively while minimizing difficulty in measuring. Different increments of volume can be obtained quickly and easily with minimal adjustment. In addition, successive rapid dispensing of set increments of volume is very dependable.
2. Background Art
The formation of a measuring chamber within a container by a pair of fixed panels in a certain way that a predetermined quantity of granular or powdery materials can be dispensed at each tilting operation of the container was taught in many patents, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. Haynie, 3,202,327; Milward, 2,092,983; Wakamatsu, 3,698,606; Nelsen, 2,127,417; Myers, 2,023,537; and Ramsden et al 2,350,925.
An entirely different design was disclosed by Rice, U.S. Pat. No. 1,931,270 and Silver, U.S. Pat. No. 2,801,033. In both of these patents, the measuring chamber is a closed unit by itself and the material flows into it through an opening controlled by a valve or a flap.
The present invention takes a third approach by mounting a pivotal panel which functions like a time switch so as to allow a preselected volume of material to flow out from the container. The use of a pivotally mounted panel in a kettle was disclosed by Jorgenson et al, U.S. Pat. 3,954,203. However, such use is designed for protecting the kettle user rather than fixing the amount of material to be poured out. More importantly, while the pivotal panel in the invention by Jorgenson et al can function independently, it has to coordinate with other elements of the apparatus in order to operate properly in our invention.
All the prior inventions relating to a measuring and dispensing device have at least one of the following drawbacks: (1) the pouring has to be achieved in an awkward and unnatural way, (2) refill is impossible or difficult, (3) the quantity to be poured can not be adjusted, and (4) the device cannot be converted to a free pourer at the user's option. All these shortcomings have been overcome in this invention.